Illegal Angel
by Darkfairiesdance
Summary: John lives out his life in the clouds of Alternia collecting the spirits of the dead and helping them move on as all angels do. As his targets decrease in age, so does his willingness to do his job. Is his new assignment, 15 year old Karkat Vantas, the last straw? (sadstuck)
1. Chapter 1

John looked down from his perch on top of one of the many spires that made up Prospet. From here he could see far across Skaia and down to the Earth which lie beneath it. He often came to this place to clear his head before he left for 'work', as he was doing now. John had been sent on assignment to Alternia, a rather poor city that he seemed to visit quite often now. The area featured a high population of humanoid creatures called trolls, which by itself was enough to give the city a bad name. Trolls by nature were violent and territorial creatures which caused a rift between them and the humans. This rift eventually grew until it was nearly impossible for the two species to coexist.

He beat his white wings and rose into the air. The troll he had been assigned to was named Karkat Vantas, aged 15. This made his stomach churn. His targets had steadily been decreasing in age, and this both sickened and angered him. No one deserved to die at such a young age. It was assignments like this that made him wish it was possible to quit. He knew that there was no way to become anything other than the angel he was. He was born into the business of soul collecting; doomed to see death after death until he met his own, and nothing could change that.

He sighed, determined to finish this assignment as soon as possible, and dove down though the clouds that supported all of Skaia. The wind rushed through his black hair and pulled at his white tunic, the standard 'uniform' for angels on duty. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation and trusting his wings to keep him on the right path. On a normal day he would continue at this leisurely pace, but today he was feeling an odd sense of urgency and with a frown he opened his eyes to the planet that lay beneath him. Carefully he honed in on his destination, using the steady wind to speed him along. It wasn't long before the cement roofs of Alternia came into view.

Aware that landing in the middle of the street would be too conspicuous John opted to land in an alley not far from his destination. From here he would have to continue on foot. He folded his wings against his back to keep them out of the way of the foot traffic he expected to encounter. Most humans and trolls couldn't see them so concealing them wasn't a concern. Again feeling the same sense of urgency, John swiftly left the alley and joined the rather large crowd of people no doubt on their way to work or school. He worked his way through the crowd to his destination.

The intersection was busy with people; however he had no difficulty picking Karkat out of the crowd. His bright red eyes, uncharacteristic of trolls, seemed to shimmer in the early morning sun like a beacon. These eyes were no doubt the cause of many of the scars and bruises that adorned the troll's face and arms, John thought. Carefully he maneuvered his way over to the young troll, preparing himself for what would come next.

The car would come speeding out of nowhere and blow the red light, hitting the boy as he crossed the street. A troll on the sidewalk would call an ambulance but it would come too late. The driver would speed off in a panic and nearly cause another accident. All of these things were set in stone.

Seconds passed like minutes as John waited for the light to change. He took this chance to think about what he had been told about the troll. His lusus was often at work overnight, leaving the boy to fend for himself. They lived in a cramped apartment a few blocks away that they were struggling to pay for. Karkat was in high school, though most days he didn't actually show up. He spent a lot of time hiding out at friends houses due to the fact that he was constantly being bullied. He could hold his own in a fight but, despite his temper, he preferred to avoid unnecessary violence. In all honesty, he was a better troll than most that John had had the displeasure of meeting.

He was snapped back to reality as Karkat brushed passed him. John watched the troll step into the street and something inside him shattered. Before he realized it he was pulling the troll out of the way of the car that would have ended his life. Karkat fell back onto John, too shocked to catch himself. John on the other hand was panicking. What he had just done was forbidden and more than once angels had been executed for saving the soul they were sent to collect just as he had done.

Filled with fear, John grabbed Karkat's hand and ran into a nearby alley. He knew that if he stayed put he would be caught and executed but at the same time he had nowhere to go. Karkat was struggling to catch up with the events that had just happened, still stunned by his near death experience. Deciding it was his only chance John unfolded his wings and took to the sky, grasping the troll tightly against his chest. Karkat managed a weak shriek as they rocketed into the sky. Unsure of what to do John looked down at the now panicked troll.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall." John said in what be hoped to be a calm voice. The troll gave him a frantic look and not knowing what to say, John focused his attention on finding a place to hide. With no friends currently on the surface his only hopes were to cover their tracks as best he could and find a hotel to stay the night in.

"Do you have any money on you?" John asked. Karkat gave him an almost confused look.

"This is important, unless you want to sleep on the street tonight." He said a bit forcefully. John wasn't the best under pressure and the threat of death wasn't exactly helping.

"I-I think I have a few bucks." Karkat replied quickly. John mentally slapped himself, of course the troll wouldn't have much in the way of spending money, much less would he be dumb enough to carry it on his person. He ran through his options quickly deciding the only way he could make this work would be to get some help from a human or two.

"Wait. What the hell is going on?" Karkat yelled as his brain caught up with the situation, "Who the hell are you and how the hell are we flying right now!"

John opted to brush the troll's questions off with a curt "later". With a quick adjustment the boys were hurtling back towards the ground.

"No. Don't give me that later shit. I want answers now." Karkat demanded.

"Do you really think it's smart to argue with the one keeping you from free falling to your death?" John said back. Karkat promptly shut up, deciding that his life was worth more than an explanation.

A few seconds passed before the ground was easily visible. Again John picked a deserted alley to land in. He set Karkat on the ground and set about making himself look presentable. Karkat on the other hand was fuming, arms crossed and ready to yell at his abductor. John silenced the troll with another "later" and began finding his way out to a main street. After a moment of hesitation Karkat followed after John careful not to lose his only hope of getting home.

John paused at the end of the alley and motioned for Karkat to stay put. The troll watched as John walked up to a passing human. Quickly John extended his wings and surrounded the middle aged man. Most of the conversation was muffled by John's wings but Karkat was able to hear something about money. Only a minute or so passed before John was walking back over to the waiting troll.

"We're going up again." John said, waiving the troll over to him.

"What." Karkat said frowning.

"You heard me. We're going back up into the air. I need to find a motel." John said, again motioning Karkat to come closer. Begrudgingly the troll allowed himself to be grabbed and the two boys took off into the sky. John scanned the buildings below him, looking for some kind of inn or motel. After much searching and a few arguments John finally found a motel. It wasn't much to look at but that meant it was probably affordable.

John landed behind the motel and left Karkat while he went to rent a room. Karkat took the opportunity to explore the grounds around the motel. The entire motel was a two story building apparently named the Sunshine Motel. The paint on the outside of the building was peeling off in many places and the grass looked like it needed to be mowed. There were a few cars parked in parking lot but Karkat couldn't see anyone from where he stood which was a relief. He hadn't met many humans in his lifetime but those he had were all scumbags. Needless to say, Karkat didn't exactly trust humans.

Karkat huffed and leaned against the wall of the motel. It was just his luck that everything went to hell today. It was the last week of school, and with a vacation planned at his friend's summer home, everything seemed to be going fine. His life just couldn't stop throwing absolute bullshit at him when things were going right. John rounded the corner with hunched shoulders.

"I had enough for one night in the cheapest room." John said motioning for Karkat to follow him.

"Why is that significant?" karkat asked as they approached their room."

"Well…" John started. He put the key into the lock and pulled the door open revealing a rather small and dark room. There was what appeared to be a bathroom behind a door to the side of the room and the only furniture in the room was a large chair, a nightstand, a floor lamp, and a queen sized bed.

"We have to share."


	2. Chapter 2

"You have to be fucking kidding me." Karkat growled quietly, "I don't even know you and I have to share a bed with you?"

John sighed, "Sorry, it's all I could pay for."

Karkat huffed angrily, "You could at least tell me your name and give me that explanation you have been promising me."

John shut the door and sat himself down on the chair.

"My name is John Egbert and I was sent from Skaia to…"

"Where the fuck is Skaia?" Karkat yelled, plopping himself down on the bed.

John thought a few seconds before replying with, "In the sky. You know sky-a"*

"You have got to be shitting me."

"Where else would angels live?" John asked.

"I'm supposed to believe that you're an angel now? Do I look like an idiot to you?" Karkat groaned.

"Anyway, I was sent to collect your soul after you died in that car accident." John said, brushing Karkat's question off.

"But I didn't die." Karkat scoffed.

"And that brings us to the reason why we are here."

"Finally." Karkat said as he rolled his eyes

"Shut up. I'm only explaining this once." John said sharply,"I saved you from the car, causing you to live past your designated time of death, which is more than illegal for an angel to do." John paused and looked at Karkat, who seemed a bit lost,"To explain it simply, if we get caught, I'm dead; and god knows what they'll do to you."

Both boys sat in silence, letting the reality of their situation sink in.

"Fuck." Karkat murmured as he brought his knees up to his chest as he often did when he was stressed.

"So what's the plan? You have to have some sort of idea to get us out of this mess. Spill it." Karkat said quickly.

"Well, I don't actually have any sort of plan. I'm not really sure about how things work down here on the surface but I'm pretty sure that I've 'kidnapped' you technically so my first thought was to get out of sight for a while." John sighed, "But other than that I've got nothing."

"Great. Just fucking fantastic. What are we going to do come tomorrow when they kick us out of this room?" Karkat asked, panic seeping into his voice.

John yawned, "I guess we figure it out then? But first I need to sleep."

"Are you taking this seriously" Karkat yelled, "Even if you didn't care about me dying your life is still on the line here."

"Which is exactly why I need to sleep? You might not think about it but it takes a lot of energy to fly myself around all day, not to mention lugging you around as well, so no matter what we do in the morning I need to get some rest or we are going nowhere." John yelled back. With a huff John walked over to the bed and began arranging the pillows and blankets in a line down the center of the mattress.

"What are you doing John?" Karkat said in an unamused tone.

"Creating a barrier so I can sleep in peace, I trust that's okay with you." John snapped back. Karkat only rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Whatever floats your boat." Karkat sighed.

Satisfied with his creation John plopped down on the farthest side of the bed.

"Goodnight Karkat." He said bitterly.

"Goodnight John." Karkat replied. Maybe he was a little out of line, he thought, his temper did get the best of him sometimes.

With a sigh Karkat laid down on his half of the mattress and flipped off the floor lamp providing the only light for the room. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him only to be hit in the head with a pillow from the barrier John had made. More than ready to yell at the angel Karkat flipped over only to see John sleeping peacefully, wings half extended into the mound of pillows and blankets separating the boys. Karkat was struck by the calm the angel seemed to emanate considering the situation he had put himself in. He wondered how John could sleep so well with the threat of death hanging over his head.

"Why even save me? I'm a total stranger." Karkat whispered to himself as he rolled back over, "I'm not worth all of this trouble."

Karkat again closed his eyes and thankfully sleep hit him before John's wings could push another pillow into his face.

John woke up to a nearly pitch black room. The only light was coming in from the small window in the door. Quietly he attempted to roll out of bed, but he paused when he felt resistance. Karkat groaned as he was pulled a few centimeters across the mattress. Sometime during the night John's barrier had come down and Karkat had become entangled with John's wings. John dislodged himself as gently as possible, thankful that Karkat was a heavy sleeper.

Silently he crept into the bathroom, hoping to loosen the soreness in his wings. On Prospit he always slept with his wings fully extended to avoid hurting himself but last night he didn't exactly have that option. He quickly stripped off his tunic and shorts as he waited for the water to warm up. When the water reached a tolerable temperature John slipped into the shower. He sighed as the water ran down his sore back and wings. He showered until the warm water ran out and stepped out of the shower feeling much less sore. He re-dressed and headed outside to dry out his wings.

Karkat woke up to an empty bed. Confused, Karkat got up and checked the bathroom. When he found no John he felt a flash of panic. Did John leave him behind? What would happen to him now?

He burst back into the main room and after a quick glance around to determine John really wasn't in the hotel room, wrenched open the front door and ran outside.

"John!" Karkat yelled, running out into the parking lot of the motel, "You better not have left me here!" Karkat ran around back still yelling on the top of his lungs, throwing himself into more of panic.

A hand grabbed him from behind, "Jesus Karkat, are you trying to look insane?"

Karkat turned around to see a worried John.

"Jesus fuck. I thought you left me here." Karkat yelled as he grabbed the front of John's tunic, "Don't ever do that to me again."

"Karkat I was just drying my wings, you don't need to overreact." John said trying to calm Karkat down.

"Don't leave me to die." Karkat mumbled into John's tunic.

"I won't I promise. We're in this together ok?" John said as he wrapped his arms around Karkat, "Now let's get inside before someone tries to figure out what all the ruckus was about."

"Alright."

*This is how I pronounce it and its 2:30 and I thought it worked, sue me


	3. Chapter 3

The boys headed back to their room to figure out where they would go when they left the motel. The door was closed and locked behind them as they sat down to discuss their options.

"How much money do we have left?" Karkat asked.

"Well, between the two of us we have like ten bucks." John sighed.

"So basically nothing." Karkat groaned, "Can we even get lunch with that?"

"I don't know, but worst comes to worst we won't starve if we miss one meal."

"Can't you just get more money from someone on the street like you did before?" Karkat asked.

"I'd rather not. I dislike having to use my abilities to leech off other people."

"Yeah, but what happens in a few days when neither of us has eaten? I doubt you would be able to fly anymore, and then where does that put us?" Karkat said, concerned for the long run.

"We need to think about now though. We need somewhere to go tonight." John grumbled.

"Well if we can hold out a week or so, a close friend of mine is going to his family's summer home for a couple of weeks and he'd probably let us crash there."

"Do you know where it is?" John asked.

"No." Karkat sighed, "But if I could get a hold of a phone I could call and ask."

"But that doesn't solve our current problem. We need somewhere to stay tonight."

"What about a cabin?" Karkat suggested.

"Karkat, we don't have enough money to rent a cabin." John groaned.

"Well obviously dipshit. I'm saying we break into one. Most people are still in school so I doubt there will be anyone vacationing yet. There was a state park a while back. I think those have cabins."

John silently thanked Karkat's observational skills, "Well it's worth a try at least. Stay here, I'm gonna go check us out okay"

"Why do I have to stay behind all the time?" Karkat yelled.

"Have you seen another troll here? I don't know if you haven't realized it but most people are afraid of trolls. I'm also pretty sure that there are people out looking for you."

"Yeah okay whatever, just be fast." Karkat grumbled, surprised by John's consideration for him.

John left the room and Karkat was once again left by himself. Silently he hoped that when he called Sollux about staying with him he wouldn't freak out. Karkat sighed, this really was a mess.

~

When John came back he found karkat laying on the bed.

"Time to go Karkat." John said.

"Alright." Karkat said as he got up off the bed.

The boys headed outside and into the field behind the motel. Once they were away from the motel John wrapped his arms around Karkat's back and lifted off the ground. Karkat (mostly) kept his composure this time, although he tightened his hands on John's shoulders when John picked up speed. They sped off into the morning sky.

"Do you know which way it is?" Karkat asked, sure that they were going to get lost.

"Yeah, I asked the lady at the front desk and she said it was in this direction." John said, eyes scanning the ground for said state park.

"Alright." Karkat mumbled.

Karkat looked up at the sky, currently the only thing that he could see over John's shoulder, and wondered what it must be like to live among the clouds.

"Hey John?" He said.

"What's up Karkat?"

"What is Skaia like?"

"Well it's pretty big and its split up into three parts, Prospit, Derse, and Skaia Proper. I live in Prospit." John said, "The air is really crisp and unpolluted and the sky is a really nice blue, unlike the sky down here. In Prospit most of the buildings are yellow, cream or gold and most of them have spires or towers on top, and they make good observation points. I think so anyway. There are lots of plants and the grass is really green… "

"Wait. How do you have grass in the sky?" karkat asked, almost as caught up in the story as John was.

"Uh, the same way you have grass on Earth? It grows out of the ground?" John asked, confused by Karkat's odd question.

"Ground?" Karkat asked.

"What, did you think we lived on clouds?" John chuckled.

"Yes." Karkat said, pouting at John as he laughed.

"Haha, honestly Skaia is just kinda like a cleaner version of Earth." John snickered, "I'd say that I'd take you but that's not really an option anymore."

Both boys fell silent. John continued to look for the park and Karkat stewed in his thoughts.

Eventually John found the park and landed the two of them in a secluded patch of trees. The boys followed the instructions given to them by a kind driver who was making his way out of the park. They walked down the gravel road, shoulders nearly touching, as to keep themselves out of the way of oncoming traffic. Every once in a while John would start up a conversation but both boys quickly found that they were in no mood to converse. The sun was high in the sky and beat down on the pair. John fidgeted with the plastic bag he was carrying, obviously unnerved by the silence.

Thankfully their walk was nearing its end, signaled by an old-looking sign that read "Campsites".

"Well it should be just down this road according to the guy who gave us directions." John said as he pointed down the turn-off.

"Finally." Karkat mumbled.

Ahead on their left were the promised cabins, both looking equally uninhibited. Karkat heaved a sigh of relief, glad that at least something was going their way. John ran up to the closest cabin and confirmed that it was unoccupied.

"This should do until we figure things out." John said.

Sorry for the wait everyone (and the kinda boring chapter) but I'm back with some update information. I am going to try to upload on Thursdays but I make no promises. I already know that I'm busy next week so there might be a little wait for the next chapter.

also if you are interested I have re-opened commissions on my deviantart account and all the information for that can be found in this journal journal/Comissions-c-yes-I-m-doing-them-382655704


	4. Chapter 4

Both boys circled the cabin looking for a way in. Fortunately for them one of the back windows was unlocked and Karkat was able to squirm his way in through said window. He then walked through the cabin and unlocked the front door for John. Upon entering John removed his shoes and placed the plastic bag he had been carrying in the kitchen, which was adjacent to the door.

After a short exchange the two explored the rather large cabin in silence, each stewing in their thoughts. Their search revealed two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, a living room with an attached dining room, a kitchen and an attic. There were also multiple closets scattered across the rooms.

"At least we don't have to sleep together again huh." John joked, trying to lighten the tension in the air.

"Yeah lucky us." Karkat mumbled.

"Karkat, are you alright. I mean I know we're both in deep shit but is this really getting to you that much." John asked, turning to his companion.

"Of course it its idiot. Neither of us are making it out of this alive. Best case-scenario is I'm on the run for the rest of my life and when I die you go into permanent hiding by yourself. There is literally nothing to be positive about." Karkat said, working himself up in the process.

"Look, Karkat, you're right when you say that neither of us have much too look forward to in the future but that doesn't mean that we should just roll over and die. I'm just as scared as you if not more. I grew up hearing stories about angels that disobeyed the rules and those alone were enough to keep me in line."

"Until now."

"Yeah, until now." John sighed, "Look at it this way, we still have lives to live and-"

"Why me?" karkat asked, surprisingly composed.

"Pardon?" John asked.

"Why me? Why throw away your life in the clouds for a troll like me?"

Silence fell over the room like a blanket.

"I really don't know. It might have been the years of seeing kid after kid die that finally made me snap. Maybe I'm going crazy or something. A job like mine really does take a toll on you after a while." John laughed dryly.

"What exactly is your 'job'?" Karkat asked.

John thought for a moment before he replied, "As an angel it is my job to oversee the last moments of a dying person's life and collect their soul to take back to Skaia. All that really means is I watch thousands of people die a day and then collect their souls and take them back to Skaia when I go home. Not exactly my dream job."

"That's really fucking morbid you know."

"Yeah. It's not like I had a choice though, I was born into this particular profession."

"What do you mean by that? I mean I get that you were born as an angel but there's more right?" Karkat questioned.

"Well your birth decides what specific job you get but other than that there really aren't any other factors. It's simply a matter of status. I was born into a lower class family so I ended up having to do the dirty work. Had I been born to a higher up family, like a few of my friends were, I would have a different job." John shrugs.

"Doesn't that irritate you?" Karkat asked.

"Does it irritate you?" John asked back.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you were born into a lower class family like I was."

Karkat is silent for a minute or so, "It doesn't irritate me."

"It's the same for me. To answer your question, I'm perfectly content with my class."

Both boys fall silent but unlike before, the silence is a comfortable one.

After a while Karkat asks, "John, how come nobody can tell you're an angel. I mean you have giant wings and all."

"I don't know why it happens but most people, human or troll, can't see my wings."

"How come I can see them now when I couldn't before?"

"Like I said, I don't really understand why it happens or doesn't happen." John shrugs.

Again the room fell silent.

"Well, I'm gonna go shower." Karkat said as he stood up.

"Have fun." John said sarcastically.

Karkat headed out of the living room and into one of the two bedrooms. Once he was in the bathroom he stripped off his dirty clothes and stepped into the shower.

John lazed on the couch, not sure what to do. He could hear the water running in Karkat's room. He let his mind wander. Minutes passed and the water was shut off as Karkat got out of the shower.

John snapped out of his daydreaming when he heard footsteps on the crushed gravel walk that led up to the cabin. Quickly he ran into Karkat's room shushing the troll. John grabbed Karkat's arm and pulled the troll to the entrance to the attic. He pulled himself up the old ladder and then motioned for Karkat to do the same.

"Close the door behind you." John whispered.

Karkat, confused by John's urgency pulled the door closed and climbed the ladder. Once in the attic both boys could hear the cabin's door open and muddled voices enter the cabin.

As quietly as they could the two crept behind a pile of empty crates in case the people decided to check the attic. They stayed in silence as the people walked through the cabin. Neither boy could make out what was being said but the voices spoke with urgency. John thought he heard the bag he placed in the kitchen rustle.

"Who do you think they are?" John asked, whispering into Karkat's ear.

"No clue. Cleaning crew maybe," Karkat whispered back.

They jumped at the noise of the closet door being pulled open. They looked at each other in a panic, sure that they would get caught. The ladder creaked as someone started climbing it.

John threw himself down against the floor and pulled Karkat with him. Karkat yelped quietly, unprepared for John's attack. They froze, hoping that the person didn't hear. With the light coming from downstairs John was able to look at the troll clearly. Karkat looked just as panicked as John did. His eyes were darting around the small space they were hiding in. His face was flushed and it was only then that John discovered why. Karkat was naked, only a towel was wrapped low around his hips. John thanked god that Karkat at least had that.

John's hands felt strange against Karkat's skin, and it made the troll slightly uncomfortable. Karkat's heart was pounding and he only hoped that the angel was as nervous as he was. The footsteps drew closer and Karkat pushed himself closer against John. This made John blush.

After what felt like hours the footsteps began to retreat. John could feel Karkat relax against him and he himself felt tension leaving his body. The ladder creaked as the person began descending. John sighed and attempted to sit up.

"H-" Karkat tried to say. John's sitting position had forced Karkat into the angel's lap. John quickly covered the troll's mouth.

The creaking from the ladder had stopped. They could hear voices calling out to each other. The creaking began again and both boys tensed up when footsteps again sounded against the wood floor.

"It sounded like it came from over here." A feminine voice said.

Resigned to the fact that they would be found John stood up, still holding Karkat to his chest and wrapped his wings protectively around the troll. The person in the attic turned to the noise and saw them. She looked afraid.

"W-wh-what are you doing in here?" She asked with a trembling voice.

So its a day late but that's because I went to sleep at 7:30 yesterday.  
Lots of gay this chapter and also I passed 5,000 words ye c:

also because a few people asked me this I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU DID FANART AS LONG AS YOU LINK IT BACK TO ME BECAUSE I WANT TO SEE THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS YOU CREATE *ahem* sorry I was exited

It thrills me to know I made somthing other people want to draw things for so have at it c:

I also encourage you to follow my art blog if you are interested in chapter progress updates. My art blog (on tumblr) has a special page dedicated to updates about this fanfic just head on over to .com

enjoy~


	5. Chapter 5

"W-wh-what are you doing in here?" She asked with a trembling voice.

"Nothing you should be concerned about." John said in a soothing voice. Karkat wrapped his arms tighter around the angel's back.

"Wh-who are you?" She asked coming closer.

"Can you not see?" John asked in the same soothing voice. He really hoped that what he was about to do would work.

The girl looked confused and continued to step closer, intent on figuring out who these intruders were.

"Take my hand." John said in a commanding voice. Karkat flinched when John let go of the troll with one of his hands and extended it beyond the barrier of his wings. The girl did as he said and gasped, eyes widening in an expression of pure surprise.

"What are you?" She shrieked. John hoped the people below couldn't hear her, "Some kind of demon? Let go of me!" She exclaimed. John could only imagine what she was seeing that made her think that. He mentally crossed his fingers.

"Look closer." John said, everything banking on the next few seconds, "Tell me do I look like a demon; because I am most certainly not a demon."

She appeared to squint her eyes and slowly her expression faded from confusion to surprise.

"An angel." She sighed in awe. She didn't act surprised at all, as if she knew it all along, however both John and Karkat were pretty sure she didn't.

"Yes." John said, again using that soothing tone of voice,"Could you leave me and my companion be and go back to what you were doing please? As you can see we mean no harm to you or anyone else in this house."

She nodded quickly and went back down the ladder, thankfully leaving the door open to the light from inside the house. Karkat relaxed and John heaved a sigh of relief. John released his hold on Karkat and folded his wings against his back, as they were before.

"I'm glad that worked. I've never done that before" John sighed.

"What do you mean?" karkat asked as he straightened himself out, "You did the same thing yesterday with that man on the street."

"I guess what I mean is I've never tried to put such a specific thought into someone's mind." John said as he shrugged. He often forgot that this was all new to Karkat because the troll handled it so well. "To put it simply, there is a big difference between 'I'm and angel and neither me nor my companion mean you harm' and 'give me money' when you're trying to convince someone. You also have to make sure that the thought you are trying to put into someone's head isn't something they wouldn't believe."

"So she believes in angels then?" Karkat asked halfheartedly.

"I guess. I never really gave any thought to what people on Earth thought of angels." John shrugs.

The two boys made themselves comfortable as the people in the house did whatever it was that they were doing. Karkat sat noticeably far from John and had his arms wrapped around his knees. They sat in silence. John occasionally looked over at Karkat but he always averted his eyes when Karkat caught him looking. The troll was surprisingly thin, but he also had a fair amount of muscle on his legs and torso. He made a mental note to ask Karkat what he did in his spare time once they were out of this mess.

"Would you stop looking at me like that?" Karkat whispered loudly. John blushed and dropped his eyes to the floor, "If it's that distracting I can move."

"Sorry." John whispered. Silence settled back over the room.

Eventually the sounds from downstairs stopped and the door was closed, cutting off the only source of light for the attic's two occupants.

"Damnit." John said. He couldn't even see his own hand when he put it in front of his face.

"Don't get your panties in a twist Egbert; I'll go open the door." Karkat said to his companion, who was currently plowing into the crates they had hidden behind.*

John could hear Karkat make his way past him and shuffle over to the ladder. The rungs creaked as Karkat climbed his way down and within seconds light was once again making its way into the attic. Karkat waited for the angel to make his way down before heading back into the bedroom he claimed as his to get his clothes.

"Shit!" Karkat yelled. John hoped that nobody heard him. "They took my fucking clothes! I can't fucking believe this."

John hoped his suspicions weren't correct but sure enough, the bag that had been sitting on the counter was gone.

"They got the food too." John said as he walked into Karkat's room.

Karkat had been reduced to a growling ball of anger.

"I know it's not much but it'll have to do for now." John said as he carefully pulled off his tunic and handed it to the naked troll.

Karkat pulled it on quickly, thankful that it was big enough on him to cover his crotch. John was slightly taller than the troll and the garment had been made to fit loosely for easy movement. Karkat blamed this height difference on the fact that John was an angel, but even so he was the shortest of his friends. The troll sat on the bed, still mumbling profanities angrily under his breath.

"Seems like I'm gonna have to go get money from someone again." John said sadly. He really hated abusing his power like this but desperate times call for desperate measures. Even if they didn't need food, Karkat can't just wander around without clothes. "The problem this time is who."

A surprising amount of time had passed and already the sky was fading from blue to orange. John decided to wait until tomorrow to make a run into the nearest town for necessities. John went to his room and heard the TV in Karkat's room turn on.

Karkat flipped through the channels on the small TV until he found a news channel. He sat through a few stories not particularly knowing what he was looking for. Almost an hour passed before his attention was called to the images on the screen.

The newscaster began to describe Karkat and tell people to keep an eye out for the "kidnapped troll". Pictures of Karkat were shown on the screen along with a few low quality pictures of John no doubt snapped by someone's cell phone as they were fleeing.

"Hey John, we're on the news." Karkat said in a mock tone of excitement.

John walked into the troll's room only to see the low quality snaps of himself.

"I'm surprised though. Usually nobody cares when a troll gets kidnapped, well except the family and friends; but this is a pretty large news station and we are a sizeable distance away from Alternia."

"That's bad." John said, voice devoid of any emotion, "That means my higher-ups have interfered."

Karkat sat on the bed still as stone as the information sunk in.

"That just means that they can't find us right. That's a good thing right?" Karkat asked hopefully.

"No that means that they've actually started searching for us. They waited for me to come back, and when I didn't they no doubt sent people out to look for me." John said angrily. He held his hand out to Karkat, "Give me my tunic, I'm going now. With people looking for us its safer to go at night."

Karkat wanted to disagree with the angel but he knew that John was right. No doubt they would be leaving in the morning to find somewhere even more remote. Karkat took off the tunic hesitantly and quickly covered himself with the blanket on the bed. John grabbed it rather roughly out of the trolls hand and struggled to put it back on.

"If I'm not back in two hours leave this cabin and run into the forest alright." Karkat flinched at the anger in John's voice. He nodded, a knot working its way into his stomach at the thought that John might not come back.

"Stay safe okay. Also get some new clothes for yourself too; they know what you look like now." Karkat said as John left the room.

The front door slammed shut.

Time passed slowly for Karkat as he wandered around the cabin looking for anything to pass the time. He found himself gathering up anything that could be useful just in case he had to run for it. The various board games did nothing to hold his attention and he resigned himself to sitting on the couch with a bed sheet wrapped around himself like a toga. The news was on with the volume low. Karkat hoped he wouldn't see anything about John but he felt that he should have it on just in case.

After only an hour Karkat was reduced to a worried ball of nerves. He would glance over at the door frequently and every noise outside the cabin made him jump. He convinced himself it was just the fear of having to survive on his own in the forest that made him so jumpy.

Karkat nearly ran for it when he heard voices approaching the cabin. It only took a second for Karkat to recognize one of the voices as Johns. He cautiously approached the door and pressed his ear against it.

"Just come back with me alright. You can still get out of this John." A strange voice said.

"Like hell I can Dave. You know just as well as I do that there is no 'getting out of' what waits for me back in Skaia." John yelled back.

"Please John-" The second voice that John had called Dave started to say.

"No way in hell Dave, just leave us be. I'm not going to rush him to his death." John said. The voices were continuing to move closer to the house. Karkat grabbed the small pack of things he had gathered up in John's absence and stood next to the door.

Sure enough John burst through the door, still arguing with this Dave person. From what Karkat could see Dave was another angel, the fact made obvious by the large white wings sprouting from his back, and was apparently close to John. His tunic and shorts were similar to John's but trimmed with red instead of blue. He had blonde hair and appeared to be wearing a pair of sunglasses. Karkat rolled his eyes, what a dork.

"C'mon Karkat, we're leaving." John said angrily into the cabin. Karkat walked out and into John's waiting arms. Immediately the knot in his stomach undid itself and a feeling of safety washed over Karkat. He wouldn't have to survive by himself in the woods.

They took off into the night sky without another word. Karkat couldn't see him because of the way John grabbed him, but John's speed assured him that Dave was still following them. John pulled Karkat closer to his chest in an attempt to become more aerodynamic.

John dropped down suddenly and nearly bashed himself into the top of a tree. John continued to weave around the treetops, gradually descending the whole way in hopes that he would lose Dave. John slowed up a bit when he no longer heard Dave following them and focused on not running into a tree. The further down they went, the harder it became to avoid branches and tree trunks.

John's wing clipped a branch and he lost control. The two boys were sent into a rapid decent. Branches scraped at John's wings and face. Karkat had pulled himself in as tight as possible and covered his face. The freefall didn't last long and soon both boys crashed to the ground. John lost his hold on Karkat and landed face down a few feet away. Karkat seemed to make it through with minimal injuries, but quite a few cuts and scrapes, but upon inspection John didn't seem to be doing so well.

John's wings had taken quite a beating and were actually bleeding in a few spots. Karkat stood up from where he had fallen and hobbled his way over to the injured angel. He ran his hands across John's wings lightly, trying to see if anything had been broken. Occasionally John would groan, otherwise he stayed quiet.

"Can you sit up?" Karkat asked once he was finished with John's wings. Most of the cuts had been shallow and nothing felt broken.

The angel sat up slowly. He had a large cut on his forehead and smaller cuts down his face and on his arms and legs. The cut on his forehead was covered in dirt and pine needles.

"Are you alright?" karkat asked. John still looked dazed.

"I-I think so." John said slowly, "My head hurts pretty badly but I don't think I broke anything. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I need to clean that out before it gets infected." Karkat said pointing at the cut on John's forehead. Karkat knew from experience that infected cuts are no fun.

"With what? I didn't get any water because I assumed that we would be in the cabin." John asked.

"I brought water. There were a few cleaning bottles left so I cleaned them out. I wanted to be prepared in case you didn't come back." Karkat said reaching into the sack he brought with him. "Lean your head back alright."

John did as he was told and the troll poured water into the cut. The dirt and blood washed off easily and after checking that none of the pine needles got stuck inside, Karkat ripped off two bits of the bed sheet he was wearing. The larger piece he balled up and told John to hold it in place. With the longer strip he tied the balled piece against the cut.

"That should do for now." Karkat sighed, "Now for some new clothes." Karkat said looking at his torn and bloodied sheet.

John untied a sack from his back and unrolled the cloth to reveal two sets of clothing and some food.

"These are yours." John said as he pointed to one of the piles of clothing, "I didn't know what size you are so they might be a little big on you sorry."

Karkat snatched up the clothes and went to go change. While Karkat was gone John changed his own torn clothes and laid out the blanket he had been using as a sack. He sat back down a little dizzy from the small amount of movement that these actions had required. By the time Karkat got back John was fast asleep.

*In this AU trolls still see better in the dark than humans and angels (who rarely need to see in the dark anyway) but being in a society where thing are done while the sun is up forced them (trolls) to adapt, lessening the need for good night vision and increasing the need for good day vision. Hope this makes sense also sorry that I couldn't work this into the story. It's kinda assumed that John and pretty much everyone else know this fact already.

This one is actually pretty long (about 7 pages in word and over twice the average word count) but I figured that after a few shorter chapters it's well deserved. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter despite its content c:

also I don't remember if I've said this before but if you see a typo or something please tell me. I'm pretty sure somewhere in the last chapter I wrote angle instead of angel and there might me more like that in this chapter as well because word hates me -_-'

I also want to give a shout out to shadhegiefan1 on Deviantart for drawing some pretty awesome fanart (that you can check out here art/Illegal-angel-385321264 )

And lastly I got an ask a while ago about what John and Karkat are wearing and I doodled something up at around 4 in the morning (so don't get your hopes up) you can find it on my art tumblr at this link post/55716945598/some-rather-crappy-doodles-of-wha t-john-and-karkat

that is all c:  
Have a nice week everyone see you next Thursday


	6. Chapter 6

Karkat had come back with an arm full of sticks. After seeing that John was asleep he quietly set up a small fire. Thankfully the matches he found hadn't been snapped and he was able to start a fire rather quickly. He knew a fire was pushing it but there was no way that they were going to spend the night in the dark.

Karkat continued to gather up more sticks to feed the flame through the night. The sun finished setting and the darkness forced karkat back to John. Karkat gathered all of the food that John had bought into the bed sheet the angel had used as a sack for safekeeping. Satisfied with his preparations, Karkat sat back on the blanket and watched John sleep.

The sun filtered down through the thick foliage and lit the area with green tinted light. Both boys slept peacefully on the small blanket. The fire had died down to embers and glowed faintly at their feet.

John was the first to wake. He felt groggy and his forehead throbbed slightly. John sat up slowly. Next to him Karkat stirred but stayed asleep. Some time during the night he had curled up next to John and fallen asleep. John smiled at the troll who not long ago was appalled by the idea of sharing a bed.

With a considerable amount of effort John was able to stand and walk around the small clearing. His head still hurt but he was able to walk straight without too much trouble. Tentatively, he spread his wings and left the ground. Nothing felt broken, just as Karkat had told him yesterday; however it was a challenge to keep himself on a straight path. After a few seconds of wobbling John was able to land safely.

John wasn't too worried. The thick branches prevented flight from being an option, which gave John time to sort out his problem.

Karkat woke up just in time to miss John's experimental flight.

"Morning." Karkat called.

"Yeah, good morning." John said back as he walked over to the seated troll.

"How's your head?" Karkat asked.

"Fine I guess. I mean it still kinda hurts but it's not bad." John replied.

"So, who was that yesterday?" Karkat asked as he stretched.

"A friend from back up on Skaia. His name is Dave Strider." John sighed.

"That's all you're gonna tell me?" Karkat asked.

"There isn't really anything to say. He was a good friend of mine. We used to hang out in our free time and stuff."

"How did he find you?"

"He must have just gotten lucky. It's not like we've left much of a trail behind us. Especially since we travel by air." John shrugged. He was also curious as to how Dave was able to find them so quickly. "In any case we have to get moving. Chances are that Dave has already informed his superiors of our location."

"But he's your friend right? Why would he do that?" Karkat asked.

"Because if somebody were to find out that he knew where we were but didn't tell he would get in a load of trouble. It's just the way things work."

Karkat shrugged.

"Anyways, I can't fly through the branches, not that we'd be safe in the air now anyways, so we need to find our way out on foot." John said, "At least we should be relatively safe in here for the time being since they can't fly in."

"Do you have any idea what direction out even is?" Karkat asked, a little on edge.

"Not really but I figure if we walk far enough in one direction we will either find a way out or find a place where the trees are thin enough to fly out." John said calmly, "We should eat something first, I'm starving."

Karkat nodded in agreement. John sat himself down on the blanket next to Karkat and pulled the small sack that contained their belongings over to them.

"I got dry food 'cause it keeps longer but most of it needs water to cook." John said.

"We don't have much left." Karkat said, "I only brought two bottles and I used a bunch last night, plus we need water to drink. You said mostly, what else did you get?"

"Uh, crackers, jerky and some bread."

"That's it?" Karkat asked, worried.

"I was in a hurry okay. I grabbed what I could." John said defensively.

"Whatever, let's just eat something." Karkat said.

John opened the box of crackers and the bag of jerky and placed it between himself and Karkat. While it wasn't much, the food staved off their hunger and gave them what they hoped would b enough energy for the day.

Karkat helped John wrap up the remaining crackers and jerky and bundle it into a pack with the rest of their belongings. Karkat tied the sack over his shoulder, worried by how light it was. John snuffed out the last embers of the fire and led the way into the unknown.

Through the hike both boys stayed silent. Neither of them was in particularly good shape and the going was rough. By what they estimated was noon John was panting heavily and Karkat wasn't doing much better.

After protesting that he couldn't take another step John sat down on a nearby broken tree. Karkat followed his example and sat down next to the angel, glad for the break.

"Are you okay?" Karkat managed to pant.

John nodded, "I don't think I've ever walked this long at one time in my life." He choked back.

Karkat nodded, unable to speak.

In the relative silence they were able to hear the forest around them. Birds chirped and rodents scurried along the ground. John swore he could hear the beating of wings, but he wasn't too concerned about it. The forest was large and the angels that were sent to look for them wouldn't chance getting lost in an area where flight was impossible.

Before they started walking again Karkat untied the sack and pulled out the half empty bottle of water and took a sip. He handed the bottle to John who also took a drink.

"We need to find water." Karkat said quietly to himself as he slipped the bottle back into the sack and re-tied it over his shoulder.

Time passed and after a long day of hiking, the unanimous decision to stop for the night was made. Under Karkat's instruction both boys began gathering sticks for a fire. When they were satisfied with the rather large pile they spread out the blanket they had slept on the previous night.

Karkat began to assemble the fire.

"How do you know so much about this kind of thing anyways?" John asked as he pulled a pair of instant noodle cups from the sack.

"I used to go camping a lot with my friends." Karkat said striking a match and holding it to the pile of kindling.

"So you went out into the forest and slept there voluntarily. That's weird." John laughed.

"It wasn't like this." Karkat said as he put sticks on the small flame, "We had tents and sleeping bags and stuff. It's not weird, plenty of people do it."

"Sure sure." John said.

"And I'm sure what you did with your friends was totally normal." Karkat scoffed.

"Normal for me." John stated as he peeled back the lids on the noodle cups and poured both the noodles and the appropriate amount of water into a small pot, "Why did you even think to bring this?"

"For boiling water." Karkat shrugged, "You can survive a while without food but water is pretty important. Give it here."

John handed the pot to Karkat who sat it on the fire. Karkat moved back onto the blanket and watched the water in the pot.

"We really need to find water John." Karkat said, suddenly serious, "It's only going to get hotter and with as little water as we have right now we could be in trouble."

"Don't be so worried. We'll be out of this forest in a few days." John said reassuringly.

The sun started to set and darkness descended on the two boys. The noodles finished cooking and they shared the warm meal by the light of the fire.

AN:

Sorry that this chapter took so long. Believe it or not it was pretty hard to write *huffs*  
I think its just because it was a pretty boring chapter but I promise that the story is going to pick up in a few chapters  
as promised chapter 7 is finished however I still need to edit it so expect it tomorrow woo

If you haven't heard, school starts for me in 11 days wohoo  
this also means swim team starts in 12 days and practice is everyday after school from 3:30 to 6:00 (I believe)  
and all of this means that updates are going to be sparse/seemingly random for a little bit  
I'm going to try and update as much as possible but we'll see how things go.

Also for those of you on tumblr I am now using the Illegal Angel tag so if you want to track my prgress/see my comments about stuff pertaining to this fanfic/or most importantly want to post something so that I can see it I encourage you to use this tag. For some reason the fanfiction itself isn't showing up in the tag but I'm trying to figure it out.

I also want to thank all of you for the favorites, likes, kudos, comments, etc.  
Its wonderful to see people enjoying something I made!  
see you all tomorrow c:


	7. Chapter 7

*Time skip warning*

It was the morning of their seventh day in the forest.

Slowly Karkat woke up. He was both thirsty and hungry however these feelings were pushed to the back of his mind by the pain from his blistered feet and the aching of his muscles. He looked over at his sleeping companion. John's face was expressionless; a drastic change from the face Karkat was accustomed to seeing.

John's condition worried Karkat. Since the third day John's head had began to throb and he rarely spoke, saying that it made the throbbing worse.

All they could do was push forward, hoping that the exit was close. The trees around them had begun to thin, a good sign. But Karkat was almost certain that they wouldn't make it through this. Even if they found a way out of the forest, neither of them was strong enough to run if angels found them.

Karkat curled back up to John. Around the fifth day the weather had taken a strange turn and left the boys with cold nights and cool days. While it was good that they weren't losing as much water, keeping warm at night had become a problem. All they could do was curl up together and bear it.

Karkat let his mind drift. He couldn't do anything until John woke up anyways.

He dreamt that John was taking him on a tour of Skaia as he has said he would. John was smiling ear to ear. The wind whipped his hair around as they flew between the towers of Prospit. Karkat spread his arms and felt the wind pull at them. John was talking but Karkat couldn't understand what he was saying. John's tone was urgent and his smile looked strained.

Suddenly John stopped smiling and he held Karkat tightly. Karkat could hear the sound of wings growing closer. A hand grabbed John's shoulder. The red trimmed sleeve flapped in the wind. John's arms disappeared from Karkat's torso.

Karkat fell through the air. Above him he could see countless angels surrounding John. He tried to yell but his voice was gone. He could hear John yelling his name as he fell.

Karkat's eyes snapped open. John was leaned over Karkat's curled body, worried expression on his face.

"Karkat we have to go." John whispered, "I was wrong."

Karkat watched as John stood up and kicked dirt and dead leaves over the embers of the previous night's fire. Heart still beating fast, Karkat stood and bundled up the blanket and tied their few belongings into a sack over his shoulder. John grabbed Karkat's hand and pulled him through the forest as fast as he could manage.

"John, tell me what's going on." Karkat said quietly.

"I was wrong when I said that they wouldn't land to look for us." John said quickly.

"Who is they?" Karkat asked.

"Angels." John whispered, "I could hear them walking around after I woke up."

"Are you sure it was angels?" Karkat asked.

John nodded, "We should be close to the end of the forest."

"I think you need to slow down. If we waste all of our energy and the forest doesn't actually end this way what will we do?" Karkat said, trying to slow John.

"I could hear them landing Karkat. They wouldn't land in the middle of the forest, they couldn't." John said.

Karkat let himself be pulled along, a small hope worming its way into his heart.

Its short but that was part of the reason that I knew I could finish it. From here out it gets interesting woo  
I don't really know what else to say but I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


End file.
